The strawberry history of Plant City, FL, began over a hundred years ago when the first railroad was extended to the western coast of the state.

Since that time it has evolved into one of the world's larger and more advanced producing areas.

The Florida Strawberry Growers Association, headquartered in Dover, was formed in 1982 as a way for growers to become "partners in research, promotion and member-community service."

Today, 16 million flats of strawberries are produced annually in the state. The association has also evolved tremendously over the years.

Nunhems, a major global producer of vegetable seeds, has opened a new service center in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, according to Clark Huffman, director of marketing and sales for Nunhems USA.

"Our objective is to be able to provide our customers with services that are more responsive than ever and to take advantage of Leon's strategic central Mexico location and interior port and transportation capabilities as an excellent hub for distribution to the rest of the country," Mr. Huffman said in a statement.

Early strawberry volume from Southern California districts as of late January was running significantly ahead of a year ago when a series of rainstorms caused problems with the crop.

As far as specialty produce items are concerned, Vidalia onions are about as special as it gets. But pull them from the ground a couple of months early and the item climbs the specialty scale even more. Retailers and consumers alike attest to this by buying up every Baby Vidalia that becomes available to them.

Delbert Bland, president of Bland Farms in Vidalia, GA, a grower of the prized onion named after its growing region, said that many growers do not like to pull the golf-ball sized immature onions from the ground.

The relaxation of U.S. Department of Agriculture cold treatment requirements will bring more Argentine pears to the U.S. West Coast this season.

For the first time in several years, the Vancouver, BC- based Oppenheimer Group will receive its Argentine pears not only into East Coast ports, but also into the ports of Los Angeles and Seattle.